


Cuddles are the best Medicine

by vanilla107



Category: Fillmore!
Genre: Cuddles, F/M, Fluff, Mentions of PTSD, cute shit, gosh I love them so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanilla107/pseuds/vanilla107
Summary: Ingrid Third is stuck with paperwork on a rainy afternoon and is exhausted. Thankfully, her partner in crime, Fillmore is always there to help. Even if the solution is cuddling.





	Cuddles are the best Medicine

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Okay, so I haven't watched Fillmore in years and I honestly didn't realise how much I loved it. I ended up binging it over the past few weeks and holy shit I fell in love all over again. I felt sad knowing that this gem of a show was lost and I felt the NEED TO REVIVE IT. Fillmore and Ingrid had such amazing chemistry in the show so I made a lil fluffy fic about them. I hope I did the characters justice and I would love to write more about Fillmore! If you liked the fic, leave a comment or reblog! Comments and reblogs mean the world to me and the quickest way to my heart AND make me write faster (this has been scientifically proven).

Ingrid Third sighed as she looked at the paperwork piled on her desk. It was a rainy Friday afternoon at X High School and she was alone in the office finishing off the weekly reports.

Ingrid hadn’t changed much since Middle School besides growing a little taller and the usual adjustments with puberty. Her choice of clothing had changed though, swapping her black dress for dark blue jeans and black v-neck top complete with her orange Safety Patrol sash. Her shoes were still her trusty black boots and her hair a stylish bob. She was ready to go home and pass out on her bed, but she had lost to Tehama with rock, paper, scissors and was stuck with the reports.

The reports consisted of four cases of vandalism, two cases of food fights, three cases of plagiarism and to top it all off, the second biggest heist was nearly pulled off by a student named Billy Fredricks who Anza and Fillmore had caught last minute. It was near the end of the school term and students were getting restless. Ingrid wondered if they had anything else to do besides get themselves into detention.

The files glared at her and she took the first file and began typing up the report on one of the food fights. An hour passed and she managed to finish two reports. Usually, the reports would be a breeze but because there were so many cases and the amount of content in each one was huge, the work was tedious. She groaned and rubbed her tired eyes.

_Of all days I have to do the reports, it had to be this one._

Ingrid was about to start on a plagiarism report when the office door swung open and her partner, Cornelius C. Fillmore walked in. He carried two paper bags and from the smell she could tell it was from their usual food place, the Egg Rollery.

"Thought you'd be workin’ late so I got you some lunch," he said with a smile and placed the bag in front of her. Ingrid had no idea how hungry she was until she opened the bag and began to eat.

Cornelius Fillmore was her longtime partner in crime. He was the reason she joined the Safety Patrol back in Middle School and wasn’t expelled in her first week. They had become close friends and good partners. It didn’t take Vallejo long to start calling them ‘the best the Safety Patrol has to offer’. They had been the best in Middle School and now they were the best in High School at only 16. Ingrid didn’t really like attention, but she was happy that their efforts were recognised.

Like her, Fillmore had grown but he was just a few centimeters taller. All the time chasing delinquents and exercising regularly with Anza, he had developed muscles that she could see when she was running behind him in a chase or when he took of his brown leather jacket. She knew he was attractive. She wasn’t sure if it was his high cheekbones, flawless dark skin or his pearly-white smirk but there was no point in denying it. 

His confidence and seriousness to his job hadn’t changed from Middle School but his damn cockiness was something else. If anything, it lightened the mood when she was tense and reminded her that they were just teenagers.  She’d roll her eyes and make a smart comment and they would laugh together. That was just how they worked and no lines ever felt crossed. She saves him and he saves her. That’s what partners do.

She became aware of the fangirls and fanboys they both had, with love letters falling out of Fillmore’s locker at least twice a week and her receiving flowers from admirers. She found it sweet but she didn’t want any praise for it. It was all part of the job. Recognition from the principle and solving the case was enough. Fillmore liked the attention but he stayed modest and would let the girls or boys down easy so that there wasn’t any heartbreak. There was the rare case of stalking from an obsessed fangirl or boy but the two had gotten used to it.

Fillmore walked over to the kettle and switched it on. He took out his signature bunny mug that he had since Middle School and hers and began to make their cocoa. She had already finished her lunch by the time he put her piping hot cocoa on her desk and she sighed gratefully.

"You are a lifesaver," she murmured as she took a sip of her cocoa, the hot liquid warming up her body.

"Tell me something I don’t know, Third."

Ingrid rolled her eyes but her small smile told Fillmore that she knew he was teasing.

"Why are you here?" she asked and Fillmore grabbed one of the cases off her desk and began to read through it. "You're supposed to be enjoying your day off. You know these don't happen often."

Fillmore knew that day offs were rare for Safety Patrollers because their jobs were so demanding and still having to attend make up classes for the ones they would miss.

“I felt like you could use some help. This week was...tense and when I saw you loose to Tehama with all the paperwork...I knew it was going to be rough, even for you. So here I am.”

Ingrid smiled a small smile and nodded.

“Okay but don’t blame me when you never get another off day because you spent your only one on working with me.”

The two collapsed into a comfortable silence and only the shifting of paper, typing on the keyboards and the light patter of rain could be heard. Ingrid watched her partner from the corner of her eye every once in a while. He would look at the papers intently before typing up any information. His features were relaxed but every no and again, his eyebrow twitched in concentration.

Two hours passed and they finally finished all the reports. Ingrid stretched, getting the stiffness out of her muscles and Fillmore plonked the last case onto his desk.

“Thanks Fillmore. I probably would’ve been stuck here for a couple more hours if you hadn’t helped. I’m actually surprised you did this.”

Fillmore didn’t realise how grateful Ingrid was. She was so tired and honestly thought she was going to fall asleep while typing. Fillmore grinned and leaned back in his chair.

“I’m full of surprises, baby. Well, to be totally honest with you, I had an ulterior motive.”

Ingrid took the competed reports and placed them in the box for Vallejo to read through on Monday.

“And what might that be?” she asked turning to face him with a hand on her hip.

Fillmore pulled out a dvd from his backpack. “I got Crime Don’t Rest from the movie store and I wanted to ask if you want to watch it with me.” he answered and Ingrid smiled. Despite being tired as hell, she liked spending time with him but because they were usually solving cases, they hardly had free time together these days. It was rare that they finished so many cases in a week and as much as Ingrid wanted to sleep, spending time with Fillmore was more important right now.

“Yes, I’d like that. You want to watch it at my place?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. I’d thought we could get some food since it’s raining so much and I assume that your dad won’t be home for the next couple hours?”

Ingrid nodded and gave him a small smile and collected her bags.

“Let’s go.”

*********************************

Their stomachs were full of Chinese food and the movie was about halfway when Fillmore felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked at Ingrid who had fallen asleep and smiled. He knew she was exhausted from a week so hectic and doing the paperwork. He continued to watch them movie but a few minutes later he heard a noise from Ingrid. He paused the movie and looked at her in concern. 

She began whimpering softly before screaming,”Stop...no...no...please!”

Fillmore’s jaw dropped and he gently shook her awake.

“Ingrid? Ingrid! Wake up,” he said and her eyes fluttered open in shock. He noticed that she was paler than usual and had sweat on her brow. He picked up a discarded napkin from the coffee table in front of them and slowly wiped her face.

“Ingrid...what’s wrong?” Fillmore asked.

Ingrid swallowed uneasily and sighed, “I think I have a mild case of PTSD.”

“PTSD? Wait...because of Safety Patrol?”

She nodded and leaned her head on her knee.

“Yeah...Fillmore, you know it isn’t stopping mascot-stealers or taking down a counterfeit baseball cards ring isn’t the same as the Ice Roses case or the Daniel Johnson case-” Ingrid buried her face into her hands and he noticed she was trembling slightly.

Fillmore sat there not really knowing what to do. He had read up on PTSD and hell, he had his fair share of nightmares but he always bounced back quickly and saw a therapist regularly if needed. The cases Ingrid was talking about happened weeks if not months ago. He knew that Ingrid had bad experiences with both of them but she had seen a therapist and claimed that she was better after a few weeks.

“Oh hell Ingrid...why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why did you lie to Vallejo about feeling better when you aren’t good at all?” he whispered placing a hand on her head and threading it through her hair.

“I don’t know...I was feeling better Fillmore, I swear. I guess I didn’t expect it to pop up like this. I know from my research of PTSD that it can last for years sometimes...I managed to get sleep for a while but there are times when I just have nightmares and...I don’t want to have sleepless nights anymore,” Ingrid murmured.

“Is there anything I can do to help? Are you seeing our school therapist?” he asked.

Ingrid nodded,”Yeah, I saw her last week and yesterday. Trying to make it a weekly thing but you can help by supporting me. According to my research, spending time with friends and family helps.”

There was a brief silence before Fillmore turned to face Ingrid.

“Can I hold you?”

It was an odd request but Fillmore knew that she’d need it.

She was quiet and he put both of his hands on both sides of her head and tilted up her head to see her crying silent tears. He wiped them away and she took a deep breath in and nodded.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, losing his balance in the process and falling backwards onto the couch with Ingrid on top of him.

“Sorry,” he chuckled and he heard her let out a laugh.

He adjusted his body so that he was comfortable and shifted the blanket so that it was covering both of them.

“You good Ingrid?”

“Mmmmm,” she mumbled and soon he could hear her breathing relax.

Fillmore smiled and yawned.

_Dawg, I’m tired too?_

There was no use trying to fight sleep and so he drifted off into dreamland.

Two hours later, Fillmore woke up first and he completely forgot that Ingrid was sleeping with him. He saw how peaceful she looked and...she was smiling. He ran one of his hands through her hair being careful not to wake her.

Her brow creased and she began breathing heavily. He knew she was having another nightmare and stroked her forehead.

“I got you, Ingrid. I got you.”

She shifted and cuddled closer to him, her arms wrapping around him tightly.

**********************************

Ingrid woke up thirty minutes later and Fillmore was nowhere to be seen. She spotted a piece of paper on the coffee table next to their discarded Chinese food boxes.

_Ingrid,_

_I totally forgot that my family has friends over and i had to rush home. Sorry that I had to leave you. I would’ve preferred to be there for you when you woke up. I hope that you are okay. I’ll see you on Monday._

_Late, Fillmore x_

Ingrid smiled and laid her head back on the couch. It was the first time she had gotten proper sleep in a while and it felt good. She felt a little lighter knowing that he knew how she felt. All she had to worry about was getting enough sleep over the weekend.

********************************************

Monday rolled around and Ingrid was tired...again.

Her wish to have a good sleep over the weekend lasted only Friday night (probably because she slept on the couch that night and Fillmore’s scent still lingered but she would never admit that). Saturday and Sunday evening were plagued with nightmares only letting her get three hours of sleep each.

She was in the office early. Five o’clock to be exact and it was still dark outside. She sighed as she boiled water for coffee. There was no point trying to fall asleep if she wasn’t even able to fall asleep. The bags around her eyes were dark and she hoped that some of the concealer she had bought would stop it from showing.

She closed her eyes and waited for the water when she heard the office door open. She spun around, all sense alert because who would be crazy enough to be at school at 5 in the morning?

_You, Ingrid but you have sleeping issues so there’s an excuse._

Fillmore looked at her in surprise and sighed. She relaxed and leaned against the counter.

“Why are you here so early, Fillmore?”

“I should be asking you the same thing but if you must know, I wanted to get ahead on a new case that Vallejo told me about last night. What about you?”

Ingrid was silent because she knew Fillmore knew the answer.

“I’m guessing you didn’t sleep too well over the weekend, huh?”

Ingrid relaxed and nodded and Fillmore walked towards her and hugged her.

“You shouldn’t push yourself Ingrid.”

She returned the hug and groaned into his jacket.

“I can’t fall back to sleep if I know I’m just going to have more nightmares.”

“It’s not healthy.”

“I don’t know what to do to make them stop.”

Fillmore bit his bottom lip in frustration.  _There must be a way._

He thought of Friday afternoon and how peacefully she had slept with him.

“Hey Ingrid? Did you sleep okay...um...with me on Friday?” he asked trying not to sound too nervous.

_Dawg, why is this so embarrassing to ask?_  He thought.

Ingrid flushed and tried to not make eye contact with him.

“I...Yes, it was one of the best sleeps I’ve had in awhile….” she admitted and he smiled.

“Okay, how about we take a break before school starts, cause let’s face it, we have three hours to kill, and you can’t work properly feeling tired...why don’t you take a nap with me? You’ll feel a whole lot better.”

Ingrid’s mind was in overdrive.

_What if someone catches us? Do friends cuddle? Yes, of course they do. But Fillmore’s different! What would Vallejo say? Would he say we can’t be partners anymore because we could be crossing the line? No that’s ridiculous. Tehama and Anza are dating and they’re still partners. But we’re the best...what if there is an exception to us? Is this crossing the line in our friendship?_

Parts of her mind argued against cuddling into her partner’s warm embrace but other sides protested in exhaustion. She knew she had to make a decision and she settled for the one her mind and body were craving. Sleep.

“Yeah...that sounds good,” Ingrid said and yawned.

Fillmore smiled and he settled on his chair and they went into the ‘Chill Room’.

The ‘Chill Room’ was designed for the Safety Patrol if they needed a space to clear their minds after a case or just a place to relax. It was a cosy little room painted a soothing light blue and had a few potted plants. There was a couch and a console with a tv if they wanted to play games.

Fillmore flopped onto the couch and Ingrid joined him and she felt his arms around her once again, like Friday afternoon. She could hear his heartbeat already lulling her to sleep.

“Hey, Ingrid?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to do this more often? I...I’m worried about you and if you want to sleepover sometime...my parents wouldn’t mind...I’d obviously have to explain why you need...to..to sleep in the same bed with me which might be awkward...” Ingrid cut him off with a soft laugh.

“I’d really appreciate that Fillmore.”

Ingrid felt herself melting into his warmth and she fell asleep instantly.

*******************

“Ingrid, hey, you need to wake up. The other officers will be coming through in a few minutes.”

Ingrid opened her eyes and looked at Fillmore through her bleary vision.

“Ugh, just a few more minutes,” she mumbled and he chuckled.

“Sorry, baby but we don’t know what Vallejo might do if he catches us like this.”

Ingrid yawned and sat up and stretched.

“You okay?” Fillmore asked and stretched as well. His body was sorta stiff from being so still for the last three hours but he didn’t mind. He was happy Ingrid looked ten times better.

“I feel better but I know coffee will help,” Ingrid said and they stood up.

“Okay, let’s go.” Fillmore nodded and opened the door to go back into the office when he heard Ingrid whisper.

“Fillmore….thank you. This...this really means a lot.”

He turned around and smiled at her, making little butterflies flap in her stomach.

“Anytime Ingrid. Now, let’s go make that steaming cup of coffee.”


End file.
